Importance of OCR and Data Extraction from Paper Documents for Businesses

Many business organizations are undergoing digital transformation with the help of digitization services. Their large volumes of paper files are being converted into digital format, which improves efficiency, speeds up operations, reduces storage costs, and improves data security. This process is not about simply converting paper documents to digital format. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Software can help extract important information from the scanned documents and store the data in such a way that it is easily available. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) converts scanned paper documents and digital files into editable and searchable data.

A recent article in muscatdaily.com reports that many companies in Oman are facing the challenge of establishing a digital transformation strategy to determine when and how to digitize their paper documents. They need to scan legacy files and capture all newly created information quickly and effectively. The report says that due to increased customer expectations, businesses need to scan documents as soon as they enter the organization, which will streamline document workflows and ensure that paper-based information is quickly incorporated into the business, and readily accessible by employees.

The possibility of error or loss increases every time paper is handled. Digitization helps eliminate such errors. Organizations need to implement best practices to make sense of the continual flow of content and vital information concealed in various documents. The following strategies allow them to achieve these goals:

Document scanning is the first step. Corporate document scanning services are available to convert paper documents into digital format and store them in a central repository. Following this, information management solutions can be implemented to get vital information from that data. Besides data in paper documents, businesses must also take account of unstructured and semi-structured data from sources such as call detail record, system logs and social media sites.

The next process is paper document capturing. This refers to the process of capturing important information in scanned documents and storing them for easy retrieval later. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the technology that allows software to interpret the machine printed text on scanned images.

Next, the information in the digital documents needs to be on boarded promptly. The choice has to be made between decentralized and centralized scanning. This depends on the process design and the organization’s infrastructure. Distributed scanning allows documents to be captured quickly and easily while reducing storage costs and improving security. Choosing bulk document scanning services is ideal for organizations with a global workforce.

Paper document digitization and OCR can unlock the power of business information, and help organizations improve productivity and efficiency. Partnering with a reliable document scanning company is the best way to achieve these goals.